Devers Barely Qualifies In 100

ATHENS 2004 - Track and Field

Three Americans Have Advanced To Today's Semifinals With Gold On Their Minds.

August 21, 2004|By Rick Maese, Sentinel Staff Writer

ATHENS -- There's been a lot of sleepless nights lately in the U.S. track and field world.

"Woke up every hour on the hour," said sprinter Lauryn Williams.

But it isn't the scandal; it isn't the doping allegations that's stealing sleep. Athletes such as Williams can finally just run, battling only pre-race jitters and not worrying about what controversy is chasing them.

Tonight, track steps into the spotlight at the Summer Games, as three Americans will be competing for gold in the women's 100-meter dash at Olympic Stadium.

Williams easily won her qualifying heat Friday night and she'll be joined by U.S. teammates LaTasha Colander and Gail Devers.

Devers barely qualified for the final. She finished fourth in her heat -- running in 11.31 -- and didn't qualify until all of the second-round heats had finished. The top three runners in each heat qualified along with the four remaining runners with the best times.

Devers, the 37-year-old who took gold in the 100 meters at the 1992 and 1996 Games, took the last slot in the field.

She was originally slated to only run the 100-meter hurdles in Athens. On Tuesday, though, she was given a slot in the 100 meters, replacing Torri Edwards, whose two-year suspension was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Williams was the most impressive of the U.S. sprinters Friday. She rocketed off the starting blocks in her second-round heat and was never challenged, finishing in 11.03.

"I think if I can have a start like that again, God only knows the limit," she said.

It wasn't the day's best time, though. That mark came from Bulgaria's Yuliya Nesterenko, who won her heat in 10.99.

Friday was mostly reserved for qualifying races. The only real surprise among U.S. athletes was in the men's 1,500-meter final, where 21-year-old Alan Webb failed to qualify for the finals.

Webb has been the United States' biggest hope in middle-distance running since Steve Prefontaine was killed in a car accident in 1975. No American has won a gold in the 1,500-meter since 1908 and none has brought home a medal since 1968 when Jim Ryun won silver.

Four years ago Webb became the first American high-schooler to run an indoor mile in less than four minutes. And just a few months later, he broke Ryun's 36-year-old high-school mile record, running in 3:53.43.

On Friday, though, he struggled from the start, and in the final lap, dropped from fourth to ninth. Twenty-four runners advanced, and Webb finished No. 25 with his time of 3:41.25.

Webb said he was spiked on the first lap. But that was just the start of his problems.

"You always expect to get a little bumped," said Webb, who spent most of the race running in a tight cluster. "But it seemed like every 50 meters something was happening."

After the race, blood slowly streamed down his right calf. He said the race was very different from the U.S. trials, calling it "very, very aggressive."

"It was like a football game," he said.

The women's heptathlon also got under way. After one day of competition, Michelle Perry of Los Angeles set two personal bests but was still only in sixth place.